Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day!! 

Well not much to write for this week. We had a lot of appointments cancel and fall through so nothing really exciting to write about as far as teaching goes. It left time for a lot of finding though, so that was really fun and we had some funny contacts, as always!!

Here is a rundown

Monday we went to go to a bible referral that was sent to us because they were not quite sure what city it was in.  Long story short, we ended up downtown at searching for this place for a good 40 minutes. Now it was 8:45 and we still were not able to find this apt. We were on the corner of a blue and red light and Sister Pruitt was a little nervous, to say the least. It was probably a good thing because it kept me on my toes.  I am so used to some of the crazy things here that it doesn't scare me, which isn't good at all!  I didn't want to leave because we had come all that way but it was sketch. We found the apt… finally!  Some random lady let us into the building because we were "Jesus girls and and we ain't fixin to harm no one" we got up to his floor in this creepy creepy 1900’s elevator.  I thought to myself this is definitely the night I'm going to die. This is how I'm going to die!  We got to his door and music was blaring. After all the searching, no one would come to the door when they were oblivious home!  I knocked a good 6 times before Sister Pruitt said, “he's not coming let's go”.  The worst!! I wasn’t about to get on the elevator again so we found the stairs and wouldn't you know it that the stairs were being painted that day and they were drying so we were forced to take the elevator. I was bound and determined to give out the Book of Mormon and Bible to someone because we came all that way. There was an elderly Hispanic man that we had briefly spoken to on the way up to the man’s apartment so when we came back down he asked, “would you girls like a drink of water”? We didn't take the water but I took it as a great opportunity to teach him more of what we had briefly spoken of before! He was a super sweet man who had met with missionaries in Mexico and he loved the great people in the church and the teachings. After talking for a bit we asked if he would like to have missionaries come back and teach him again. He wasn't interested but he asked for the Book of Mormon because he misplaced the one he had.  So, it ended up being all good. We got out of there quick and ran to the car but all is well!! 

Tuesday there was a youth activity at the Ruiz shop. I'm not sure if I've told you much about this family but they are exactly like dad and it makes me so happy when I talk to them or are even around them. Anyway, they do a lot with cars and hot rods and they have this sweet brand new super charged hub cat.  This is all beside the point. There is a youth that we have been trying to work with for so so so long. His mom is a recent convert and he is a great kid. He's really into cars and working with anything that runs, so we created this whole mutual night for him in hope that he would come and enjoy it and we would be able to get the youth to fellowship him.  I was nervous that the whole night would never happen. We had been asking the YW and YM to put it on for so long now. More than that, I was worried that he might not even show up. Never fear though, he did show up and he loved it!! We talked for a long time afterwards about all sorts of things and I showed him some of dad’s toys that I have pictures of and he got so hyped! Immediate friends!! Connections made, so hopefully we can start teaching him! Besides all of that, I got to be in a shop which the smells and sounds just bring me home.  So all and all, it was a great night!  A win win for sure. 

Wednesday we moved district meeting to early in the morning for a lesson that ended up falling through, which was ok. It allowed us to do some online training for Sister Pruitt. That night we went to the soup kitchen, which I love!! There is never a dull moment! It's the best 2 hours of my day. There was a new helper there that was from Switzerland. She is so sweet. When I was telling her who I was and what I do, she gave me that face like yikes!! So I asked her what she knew about Mormons and she tried to brush it off so I didn't want to push it.  Later that night, she came back to me and she said your way too nice to be a Mormon. Everything I know about your religion says you shouldn't be this nice or happy!  We had a good long talk after that it was beautiful!! She was so relieved to find out I wasn't a devil worshiper or a sister wife. I love being a representative of the church so I can help to set things straight and that I can be an example of which I hope Christ is pleased with.

Thursday we had interview in the morning and then we stayed at president’s house for quite some time planning. Always a good time! He made us some quesadillas. It was quite the party!  That night I almost died laughing! So… we helped this old lady with her garden last week and we didn't finish so we asked if we could come back and finish. Right before we left, she called us over and told us she had a special treat for us. She wanted to show us one of her favorite things. We waited while she ran in. She brought out this stuffed cat and I'm not talking like the stuffed animals you give a little kid I mean that she brought out a cat that used to be her pet that had died!! I couldn't take it I had to walk away it was so funny and gross. She took a crazy cat lady to a whole new level then she told Sister Pruitt she had two more haha not right on so many levels haha:) 

The rest of the week just seems like a blur I'm not really sure what happened haha:) 

Sunday we went to the retirement home again and we had a very nice service. I loved Father’s Day. It reminds me how grateful I am for my own father and for the knowledge of a Heavenly Father!  Words just don't do it justice for the feelings I have!! It's truly what pushes me on everyday knowing that there is someone out there that doesn't know they are a Child of God. They don't know that he loves them, someone that doesn't have this gospel and the light and love in their life. I'm so grateful!  I love this gospel with all my heart and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I have to share it with others each and every day! I couldn’t have asked for a better 15 months!! It's been such a blast! So fulfilling and so life changing! I'm so grateful!!

Love you all! 

Keep smilin 

Sister Kendrick 

Home Alone House

Blessed with the Best

Well this week has been a lot a lot a lot of finding. Where there is a lot of finding, there are always some good stories!

Monday: We were just minding our own business at the Mission office when a member came in with his coworkers and asked Sister Erickson, the front desk sister if there were any missionaries nearby that could share a message with his co-worker.  They were just on their lunch break and he asked if he would like to stop in and hear a message about Christ, then can pick up some lunch on the way back!! It was really neat! This kid, his co worker, Charles had so much respect for this member and he knew how much his religion meant to him, he was he was happy to listen. Wow the spirit that the member brought in, as he testified was amazing. He told Charles after our message, “you will come to know for yourself the truthfulness of this church and of the Book of Mormon and then you must choose to either accept it and live in harmony with it or you can choose to deny it, but you will know if you read it and pray about it.  YOU WILL KNOW”. He proceeded to tell his conversion story, He joined the church in Germany when the church was very young there and he told of all he had to give up, all he changed, and how blessed he had been because of it, the pure happiness that comes from the gospel. It was really fun to be a part of!  I love when lessons fall into my lap and I have an opportunity to Share my Testimony! Later that night, we went and did service for an elderly women that we met while we were tracking earlier the week before!! She was so sweet and she just needed someone to talk with her.  We offered to help her plant flowers and she took us up on that one. We plan to go back this week. I’ll send some pictures of her.

Tuesday: was really a slow day we talked to all sorts of people but slow. Nothing really stood out.

 Wednesday: We were running around with heads chopped off!  From district meeting to lunch with a sweet member to studies and then service at a soup kitchen and MCM. Service was by far my favorite part.  It always is. I love making people smile and service is the best way, by far, to put that smile on someone's face. This is our second time going to this soup kitchen and the other volunteers are now opening up a bit more, asking all sorts of questions. They can’t believe that we choose to do this with our lives and they are so impressed with us haha. These are good Christian people they all belong to the church where we do service, but they are in constant awe. They watch us very closely to see how we react and how we respond to different situations. For example, because it is at a church and the organization is Called Feed my Sheep they always start with a prayer. About halfway through the night, a volunteer came up and asked why we fold our arms during the prayer and what the meaning behind it was. Is that the only way we pray... Do you say recited prayers... and the questions kept coming it was really cool that they noticed little things like that!!

Thursday: as we were headed back to our car from knocking with not a whole lot of success, a lady was reading a book on her front porch. We kinda just gave a sort Hello and I asked if she was enjoying her book. She said yes and I thought that would be the end of it.  She did not seem too interested in talking but I was wrong, as always. She started asking all sorts of questions. We had a good long conversation, she said she had to get going and said “how about you girls leave me with that pamphlet you are teaching me from and give me one for my daughter and you come back next week to teach us more.”  That doesn't happen all that often!!  We ran from there to a temple tour with Salma's Family and  and her older brother!!  I'm not sure what I have said about him but he's a really cool guy and really Catholic which is great but we have some intense conversations about the gospel.  It's been a hoot for me. So I was super stoked to give him a temple tour. It was all going great.  We planned the tour more geared to Salma but that didn't last long.  It got deep pretty fast, and I didn't know what to do. I wanted Bart (Salma's brother) to have all his questions answered and I wanted to back them up with scripture, but it was way over Salma’s head and that was the real reason we were there, so I just kept saying a little prayer for guidance and help. The lesson was pretty much over and I could tell that Salma was lost. I was feeling sad that I missed a great opportunity to help her grow and to create a spiritual experience for her. At the end of the tour, they are able to go and sit and ponder what has been talked about and just to feel the spirit. Well we sent them all to do that and about 4 minutes in, a temple worker started to talk to Salmas mom and dad and Bart so it gave us a perfect opportunity to take Salma to the waiting room by the baptistery and we had a little heart to heart!! I shared with her my love for the temple and how I gained a testimony of it at a young age just like her.  It was super tender and for a split moment in saw Salma in white and with that image came tears. She smiled and said I'm so excited to go to the temple when I turn 18.  I'm so excited!!! I love this girl so much!!!

Friday: we were at the library doing some studies and as we were leaving this wonderful African women stopped us and asked us all about our ministry. She just moved here and has been seeking for a church and she went on and on about how she loved what we were doing and she wished that she had our same calling. Super sweet woman!  She got our number and asked if she could contact us!! The next text stated, “hello Jesus children! Could we meet up?” haha love it. That was a first! 

Saturday:  We started off the day with a killer workout!! Let's just say I couldn’t move on Sunday!! Then we did some service with some of our members… love it!! I love getting my hands dirty!! We did quite a bit of lawn work and had a nice lunch!! After that it was a tough day for me!  It was a long hot day!!  I thought I was going to lay down and die!!  It was so sticky hot and I was not having it!  We made it through, thankfully.

Sunday was even hotter than Saturday!! As we were finding we knocked on a door and the women let us right in.  She was so happy to see us, which is very unusual.  I thought maybe she was a less active member of some sort. But no, come to find out she had talked with the missionaries on the train but she had to get off before anyone could get her info and she had always wanted to learn more so she pulled us up a seat and we had a great restoration lesson.  She kept saying, this makes so much sense!! (with the enthusiasm that only black people have) It was a great lesson!! She picked up on things so quickly and made so many connections!! It was a great lesson!! We're going back this week to see her. Fingers crossed that she read and is even more interested in the next lesson! She has the cutest boy also!! Love it!!

Well as it going to be Father's Day this week.  I just want to thank all the fatherly figures in my life. But most of all for my dad!! I love him so much and I'm so grateful I was blessed enough to be one of his daughters! Words cannot express the feeling of gratitude I have for my dad and the hard work he puts in on my behalf and for my family. Anyone who knows him, knows what an amazing person he is!! So grateful I've been blessed with the best!! I love you dad and I miss you so much!! I can't wait to give you a great big old hug here in a few weeks thank you for setting such a great example for me and loving me enough to expect great things and for helping me grow into the person I am today!! Love Pete!!


Well thanks for all you guys do in my behalf I hope you have a great week!
Keep smilin
Sister Kendrick

Knockin On Doors

So this week was wonderful!! I got my new greenie Sister Pruitt!! She’s from Arizona, love her!! She came trained, for sure! She's awesome!! We are rebuilding our area right now.  We did so much finding but we had some pretty cool experiences and other than that not a whole lot happened this week. Here are a few of the contacts we had... sorry there's not more! 

1.       We went to the temple so I could show Sister Pruitt how to do tours and while we were there, the workers were planting flowers. We started to talk to them. Come to find out one of the workers wasn't a member. We talked to him and asked if he wanted to learn more. He said "sure come back tomorrow I'll still be planting flowers!" So we came back the next day and taught him the restoration! He's super solid and is learning more with the Elders where he lives.

2.       We met his girl from Camaroon, Africa. Super sweet had a dope life. She literally does so much service and is head of organizations. Teaching kids and helping them become great people. She came to America to do more good, so we invited her to do service with us! She's amazing. 

3.       We knocked in to quite a few Jews. I love leaning about others beliefs. This week my go to question to them was "can you tell me about your prayers" really interesting…. loved it. 

Well sorry not a whole lot of interesting stories for this week, but I love ya all. 

Well I love ya hope you have a great week 

Keep smilin 

Sister Kendrick 

Picking Up The Green Beans

Hello everyone!! 

Ok it's that time again so here are transfer updates.  I will be staying in North Shore 2nd Ward and Sister Hansen will be going to back to Morgan Park where she came from.  As for my new companion…. drum roll please.....  I will be training once again. Whoot! Whoot! This will probably be the last one so I'm super excited this will be number four haha :)  Even crazier than that, starting this Tuesday I will be the oldest English sister in the mission, oldest meaning being out the longest.  It's so weird to think that I'm on the home stretch. 

Ok enough of that I don't have a ton of time today because I’m going down to get the new sisters from the airport with the APs and show them around the city, and give then thier first opportunity to contact as a missionary.  It's always an adventure. 

This week was pretty usual.  Not a whole lot of stories. So I'll share a few updates

Jimmy and Chloe: doing great as always. They have been looking for a house so that's been taking up a lot of time. Jimmy parents are coming in a few weeks from China so they can meet Chloe and hopefully give their approval so they will get married. This weekend their offer got accepted so hopefully we can get back to our regular schedule. 

Rory: is fervently reading the Book of Mormon he has some trouble believing in Joseph Smith and he took the line if the  Book of Mormon is true then Joseph Smith has to be a Prophet of God to heart. Which is Awesome!! 

Tyler (the guy that walked into the church wanting to get baptized right then): Well he got baptized this weekend and it was awesome!!  There were about 30 RMs that came. They all work summer sales and that is how Tyler got interested, working with these kids. He really had no chance!  30 missionaries right out of the field against 1 Tyler haha it was great!! #membermissionarywork  It was really fun to be a part of and the spirit was so strong!!  At the end he shared his thoughts and feelings and it brought an overwhelming spirit!   It was awesome!

Sunny: we talked with her late last night at presidents home and she has been reading the Book of Mormon everyday!!   Here is a little bit of what she said and the translation

We finally got her in touch with a member that lives in China and the closest church to her is 7 hours away.  That's after the fact that she goes to Hong Kong to get baptized.  So there is still a very long road ahead but it's been an amazing journey to be on and to help her!!   We're going to figure it out one way or another!! 

Everyone else is pretty much at the same place not a whole lot, like I said :) 

Well I'm excited to embark on the adventure ahead of me! Goodbye May, Hello June!! Firefly season is right around the corner.  I'm so excited!!  

Ok that's all for today folks. Thanks for everything!! 

Love ya 

Keep smilin 

Sister Kendrick 

Adventures and Sue

Well… shout out to Brodee for graduating today!! How I wish I could be there :( Who thought this day would ever come. It's funny before I left on my mission we were talking about time and how right about the time I come home Brodee would be graduating. That seemed like a lifetime away, and here we are. It seems like I'm always chasing time! At the time I was excited to miss out on the graduation that seems to last hours and hours but how I really wish I could be there today!! You done good Brod!  I'm proud of ya!! #longlive

This week was full of adventures!  Starting off with exchanges with the one and only Sister Tanner!! Man we had quite the exchange! It's always an adventure. We were able go to the high school to teach their world religion class for two days this week.  It was a blast. It was really fun!  To put it into perspective for you, there are only 4 kids that attend that school that are members and they are all from the same family, so these kids knew next to nothing about the gospel.  They had all heard all the crazy stereotypes. It still dumb founds me some of the things that people believe about our religion.  We shared The Restoration with them and answered all their questions. There was one or two that got me tripped up but other than that it wasn't too bad. 

 Remember Tyler that walked into the church two weeks back that we passed off to the YSA sisters? Ya while we're on exchanges I got to go and teach him with Sister Tanner and set up his baptism for this weekend so that's exciting!! Stranger things have happened! He's having all of his friends (recently returned missionaries) come and do the whole program so it'll be really neat to attend! Chalking that one up to member missionary work!

I got a call this week from Sue ( a recent convert from Indiana ) and she was so excited to tell me that she would be going to the temple this week to finally be sealed to her husband!! It was such a tender call. The temple and the sealing was the one thing that sealed the deal when she was learning about the gospel. She had been waiting for this day for quite some time.  After getting the call we made arrangements to attend this wonderful event. I called the temple to see what time here session would be so that we could attend (Sue only knew the time she was to be there) I was so excited. When we were just about to go into the session I mentioned to the temple worker my excitement to be there for this sweet friend of mine for her first time. She looked at me puzzled and said oh no I think we have a mix up. Long story short, the temple had told us the wrong time and Sue’s session was half way over. I was so upset but we made the most of it. I remember from the Ogden temple that if you were to do any ordinance that afterwards you could go to the celestial room, so I grabbed some initiatory names and we were able to go and surprise Sue.  When she came in, we were there waiting for her. It worked out great!  She came in and then many emotions were felt!  She couldn't hold back any longer and the tears started to flow. She was moments from her long awaited goal. She was able to be sealed to Russ. Although he had already passed on, she said she could feel his presence there. It was a really neat experience.  I’m so grateful to have been there with her. She wished that the sisters she loves could have been there too ( Sister G, Sister Grant , Sole )  She wanted me to share with you all her appreciation for helping her to learn of this gospel and for helping her get prepared for that day :) 

So, as I mentioned  last week, our investigator Rory got into some anti and that we would be having a lesson with him to discuss some of his questions and what not. Well the day that we had set he cancelled. We tried calling him throughout the week to set up another lesson and nothing, no response. So I thought that we had for sure lost him. I was super sad because as much as we would like to act like anti isn't a thing and that it doesn't persuade individuals, it does! Well, our week went on and then Thursday night rolled around and we got a call from Rory asking if we would come over the next night. We agreed and that was it.  The call was short and abrupt. It had me worried, that's for sure. Well I studied my little heart out and I was ready. As we arrived at his house I have to admit I was nervous but we had brought some stellar back up, a very very knowledgeable member.  As we started the lesson, we asked if we could pray and then the first two questions out of the cannon were hard! The member and I were sharing reasons and answers and bearing powerful testimony of all that we believe and this went on for about 40 minutes then he thanked us for answering his questions and being so patient with him as he strived to learn and understand. He explained, “Early this week I had decided that I was done learning and that I would just take the knowledge I had and move on and I was fine with that up until the night before last.  I was sleeping and I had a dream of which I learned that I needed to give you a chance to explain and answer my questions and that I was to continue to search this religion out and that I was to call the missionaries and I was to learn. So I don't know what this is about, but I'm going to continue to learn. So thank you for coming tonight and sharing your testimonies, and I will continue reading the Book of Mormon and seeking an answer.  In the meantime, I'm going to continue to learn so would you come back and teach me."   That took me for a loop to say the least and I'm excited to help him continue to learn and to grow. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways.  I'll tell you what, the Spirit was strong in that lesson for sure, I was eating it up!! 

Well there's a little look into my week. It's the last week of the transfer so I'm excited to see what will happen! I hope that I'll be able to stay here! There is so much happening right now! I just want to be able to continue to work here in North Shore.  But come what may and Love it, I guess. 

Well enjoy the last few days of school!! Love ya all

Keep smilin 

Sister Kendrick 

Happy Mother's Day

Hey y'all thanks for coming yesterday! It made me so happy to see you smiling faces!! I think I said this yesterday, but I was literally so excited to see everyone I woke up ever hour Saturday night ;)  It was so good!! Although I miss you all, I'm so happy about being out here. I've learned so much and I'm so excited to come home and to share with you all!!  

I practically told you everything I did this past week over Skype so there's not much to share over this email other than we did lots of service . We are just plugging along with 2 weeks left in the transfer. It's crazy! Time flies!!  I'm not sure if I'll stay or if I'll go but either way I'm going to make the most of these few days I have in this promise land of an area!  Love you all!  Hope you have a great week and once again Happy Mother's Day to all the amazing women in my life, especially to my mother that has always been there, from the start!! I wish I could just come home for a day and give you a great big huge and talk for hours!! Words can't express the blessing it has been to be your daughter!  Heavenly Father has truly blessed me!! 

Thank you all again! Words can't express how happy I am!

Well, I love you all!  I hope you have a great week!

Keep on Keepin on and Keep smilin 

Something is in the Water

 Hey so it's been a different week to say the least... 

*We got a media referral this week for a man named Rory. We have taught him 2 times in the past 4 days and we are meeting with him again tonight. He has been a Born Again Christian for about 40 years and then he got diagnosed with a tumor near his spine that could potentially paralyze him or kill him.  He had a really hard time with that diagnosis. He thought it wasn't fair and that God was punishing him so he has been blaming God for the past few months and that's been solving nothing but he is still really hurt. We had this big long conversation why bad things happen to good people and why we need to turn to God and not away from Him. It's in moments like this, we need to have faith more than ever. As we were talking, I shared Kennedy’s story and it brought him hope and peace. The next time we had a lesson with him, he shared a quote out of Our Search For Happiness and he loved it. He was able to get passed his hard feelings and listen to the message of hope we have to share. He has been reading the Book of Mormon so we’ll see where this goes but I'm excited!! 

*Jimmy and Chloe are trying to buy a house right now so they have been really busy and Jimmy has had finals so that's not been fun.

*Sister Hansen has also been sick this week, so that left me with some time on my hands.  I got some good studies in, which was great.  Even though we study for 2 hrs a day, I don't ever feel like it's enough.  Most of the time it is not for ourselves, it's always for the lessons we are teaching and our investigators.

 *Sunny is doing well.   She's planning on traveling to Hong Kong to meet with the missionaries and get baptized but there's some preparations that still need to be made 

We went on exchanges this week and I was able to spend some time with Sister Tanner.  Man alive did we have a crazy day, one to remember. Let's just say we shouldn't be allowed to be within 100 miles of each other because whenever time we're together, something crazy happens haha. We had a great lesson with a guy named Gabe about the tree of life, always a fun chunk of scripture to teach.  Sister Tanner keeps telling me I need to be a seminary teacher, and every time she does I laugh so hard I cry!! But we had a good time!! Love her!! 

Oh here's a good story for you.  There is something definitely in the water and I love it!! 

So yesterday we had got a phone call and a text from the 1st and 2nd counselor of the bishopric so I looked at the text first and it said “sisters we need you to come to the church as soon as possible there is a man here that wants to get baptized no joke".  I called them and they told me the same thing, not many details. We live about 20 minutes from the church. We grabbed our stuff and ran over.  We got there and we met Tyler.  He was dressed up white shirt and tie, and some work shoes haha;) 

Ok pause for a second and let me tell you want I was thinking. I was positive that the elders were messing with me. They have been giving me a hard time about people just walking into the church wanting to learn more ever since Jimmy and Chloe walked in. I think they feel jipped. If it wasn't them teasing us, I thought this guy was going to be crazy, and if it wasn't that then for sure he had to be a fluke guy that just wanted to get baptized at the first church he saw and it just so happened to be ours. Ok not one thought that was good!   I know!! Where was my faith?  I am a terrible missionary. 

Ok so back to the story: 

Me:”Hi Tyler I'm Sister Kendrick. How are you doing today? What brought you to the church? "  

Tyler: “Well I came to be baptized into the church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints that is” ( ok elders, good one) " I've been learning about the church and I want to join" 

Me: "Ok well let's sit down and you can tell us what you know and how you got introduced to the church" 

He went on about how he had a friend that hired a man and "there was something different about him".  He couldn’t put his finger on it. Well about a week or so went by and he somehow he came to the conclusion that it had to be his religion. He didn't say that they had a conversation about it or anything like that so I'm not sure how he learned that he was Mormon.  Regardless, he somehow must of, and he took it upon himself to start studying this religion because he wanted to change his life and it looked like this guy had it together.  So this all started about a month ago.  Since then he has been studying the about the church. 

Me: “Wow Tyler!  That's so cool.  What all have you learned and what all have you studied?”

Tyler: “Well I know about the word of wisdom and I love it!! I have been clean from all of that since the day I read about it.  It just makes so much sense. I know that there is a prophet named Monson and there's 12 men under him what are they called again?" 

Sister Hansen: “Apostles." 

Tyler: "That's it and under them is the seventy, so I got the organization down I could keep going if you want me to. haha. I also know that today is Fast Sunday and that's why I'm here. I've picked this day out and I'm actually fasting for my baptism. I thought that might be a good thing to fast for.  I'm not even hungry and I feel great!  So I was so excited to get baptized today" 

Ok now I knew for sure that I was being pranked! What person fasts for their baptism before they have met with missionaries? 

Me: “Wow Tyler that’s great! You've learned a lot about the church, but before we get too far, I have to explain something to you.  I don’t want you to get your hopes up. You won't be able to get baptized just yet. We have to have a few lessons with you to make sure this is what you really want and also so you know what you’re getting yourself into. Baptism is a big commitment and we want to make sure you’re ready. It sounds like you've done your homework but we still have to share a few lessons with you, starting with the restoration of the gospel.... 

I got half way through the very first part of the lesson and he stopped me and said 

Tyler: “I know all of this. I know you don't believe me but I do" 

Ok reality check! Maybe this guy is being real right now. Maybe he really wants to join the church. 

Me:  I closed the pamphlet "ok Tyler let tell you something. It's pretty rare this happens and so we just want to make sure you understand, but it sounds like you got it all. One last question I have for you. Have you heard about the Book of Mormon before? 

Tyler: He pulls open his phone “yes I know what that is.   I have the gospel library app and I've been reading it I'm almost done with Neffy ( Nephi as we would say it)  and I read that I should pray about it and I have  and I know that the book is true. My prayer was answered. 

You can only imagine my expression. Then it accrued to me that I have no idea where he lives. When I asked him my heart dropped.  He lives outside of my area. He is a  YSA…  Sister Tanner!!   I told him the bad news that we wouldn't be able to teach him but that I was going to call the missionaries that would and have the come and meet him.  I called Sister Tanner and I told her that she needed to come to my church ASAP and come meet her new golden investigator. She to thought I was joking but after awhile she realized I was completely serious!!   When she got there, we all went to sacrament meeting. As soon as fast and testimony meeting started, he leaned over and asked if it would it be ok if he went up there and shared his thoughts.  A little nervous, I said sure.  He went up and shared just that and told the ward he was excited to be baptized and came back down.  Long story short, the sisters are going to teach him. It will be Sister Tanner’s first Baptism! Whoot! Whoot! Well deserved. He was super upset that he couldn't be baptized yesterday and even more upset that he has to wait 2 more weeks but he said it's worth waiting for haha!!  So crazy things happen, I should just start planning on it especially up here there's something in the water!!!

Have a great week!

Love,

Sister Kendrick

Payday in China

Well here's to another great week!! I can't believe it's already May!! That's crazy talk!!  Well I'm going to keep it short and sweet.

I'll start off with Jimmy and Chloe. This week, it really clicked for Jimmy… what this is all about, the spiritual aspect of it. I asked them if they have seen changes in their life since they have been investigating the church. Jimmy spoke right up which is unusual for him.  He kind of likes to take everything in and listen. He didn't hesitate to share with us that he has felt an overwhelming peace in his life. He's going through a lot in school right now and with working, it’s been very crazy and stressful. But he's been able to find peace through it all.  He also shared that he feels such great love for those around him.  It was interesting. Chloe agreed with him. They are finally getting everything!! They believe in God and in Jesus Christ.  They have a strong belief in them now. Jimmy said that fact that They understand what we are going through has made a world of a difference. Chloe was cracking me up because she didn't understand why this wasn't taught in school in China. She said how she wishes she would have known this her whole life, but more important she wishes that her family and friends knew about it. They have been praying every day and searching out the Gospel for themselves finding answers to questions.  They've been praying for those in their family and praying for the truth. Now it's time to lay the good stuff down. We're going to be going over the commitments this week, should be interesting. We’re going to put their faith to the test, ready or not here we come!! I'm excited to see how they react to their willingness to follow the Savior's and His commandments. 

As I mentioned last week we were able to do a huge temple tour for the Kalamazoo Stake in Michigan. They came down to the temple. I've never seen the temple so packed it was wonderful. There were probably around 170 members there and we were able to give a tour to 40 of them. We gave a tour to all walks of life, including two pastors, two investigators, three less actives and there were just members that were able to enter into the temple and do a session. Some of the youth even came to do work!   It was a wonderful day to be at the temple!! Super neat experience, I honestly can't get enough of the temple and the spirit that's there! What a great day!! 

We are teaching this little girl named Salma. She's probably one of my favorite people here.  She's so knowledgeable about the gospel. She blows me away with what she knows!!  It super fun because I can have deep lessons with her and she eats it up!! We finished up the plan of salvation and the question she had, man oh man. It was fun seeing her trying to work them out in her mind. She said at the end, this makes so much sense!  Why doesn't everyone join this church!! Now we just need to hope and pray that her dad will let her be baptized, but if not we will keep on keeping on and she'll be ready for the day that she can be:) 

President Bingham’s son got married this week so we spent some time helping Sister Bingham set up the lunch in and decorating the church and then the next day we helped prepare the food for them. It ended up being a great day for them. I cannot imagine trying to plan a wedding and serve a mission at the same time, but it all worked out!!

Last night we were waiting to get in touch with Sunny.  We have been messaging her over what they call WiChat and last night was one of those payday moments. She's been reading the Book of Mormon and praying with her family and every day she has some questions about all the pamphlets. We were going over them with her and we had to call in the translator. I took a quick video so you guys could someone being tough in Chinese. Super awesome! The problem is in China, she can't be taught there by someone so we are just working until we can figure out how to get her to Hong Kong to be baptized.  She can attend the branch but she can't be taught by any of the members.  She can ask a question and they can answer it but that's about it. We're getting around their stupid rules.  She's going to learn the gospel one way or another. Something that was really cool she told our translator was that she's been studying about Joseph Smith and when she heard his story and read his testimony she felt an undeniable feeling and she knew it was true and she knows that he was a prophet of God.  She said she can't stop praying, she loves the feeling and the strength and happiness that it brings to her day! I was eating it up!!  What a great end to the week!!

Well I love you all!   Hope you enjoy your week! 

Keep smiling! 

Sister Kendrick